Kariba rehabilitation set for next year

Published: 30 July 2014

Implementation of the Kariba Dam rehabilitation project is expected to commence early next year, the African Development Bank (AfDB) resident representative, Mr Mateus Magala has said. In an interview, Mr Magala said top government officials from Zambia and Zimbabwe met the AfDB president, Donald Kaberuka in Kariba last week and agreed to treat the project with urgency.

"Finance and Energy ministers from Zimbabwe and Zambia together with their secretaries and senior Government officials met with the AfDB president in Kariba last week to discuss modalities of the Kariba dam rehabilitation project.

"All parties made technical presentations at the meeting which was hosted by the Zambezi River Authority (ZRA), we agreed that the project is urgent and we need to do the best we can to advance. We also agreed that the project would be funded by the European Union (EU), the World Bank and AfDB to the tune of $250 million," he said.

Mr Magala said AfDB will provide a $36 million grant from its Zimbabwe office which will be complimented by a $39 million soft loan from the Zambia side, to make a total contribution of $75 million towards the project. The World Bank intends to provide an additional $75 million while the EU expected to contribute $100 million.

At the meeting, Mr Kaberuka stressed the need for thorough technical studies underpinning the project so as to avoid price distortions.

"The president of the bank further highlighted that the environmental studies have to be done well as we cannot afford to engage in such a huge endeavour without accepting and respecting international protocols that have been put in place to ensure sustainability of projects of such nature. We also need tight co-ordination among stakeholders and a sense of urgency in implementing the project," he said.

Mr Magala said his office is currently engaged in consultations with Government over use of the country’s AfDB allocation (2014-2015) which has since been dis- bursed.

"There is no shortage of impact, the issue is shortage of resources and hence the need for priorities which should be determined in consultation with Government and other stakeholders to see where we can make more impact with the few resources we have and use them to leverage other needs," he said.
- The Herald